Ronald L. Olson, 68

Litigation, corporate counseling

Olson has stood his ground for decades as a highly sought attorney involved in some of the nation's most high-profile cases. So it's no surprise that in the aftermath of the Bernie Madoff scandal, one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history, that Olson would enter the scene to represent a prominent individual and family who were victims of the fallout. He continues to represent the Yahoo Inc.'s board of directors in Microsoft Corp.'s bid to take on the lucrative Internet search engine business. He also is defending General Reinsurance Corp., a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary, in lawsuits launched by the Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to the American International Group accounting fraud.